School Cycle Maintenance Club (again)

Tony B said:

If I were to initiate an after school club for kids (11-16) to use the
spanners (probably their own, supplemented by a few of mine)on their own
bikes, will I end up penniless and/or in gaol as soon as one of the
attendees has an accident that "is your fault..." etc.?

Long ago I used to give the cub-scouts' bikes a once-over when they
arrived on them for the weekly meeting, and the horrible state some of
them were in was quite depressing. No point expecting the kids to
remember details at 8-11, so I used to try to fix the worst problems
while another leader was looking after them. (Nearly wrote "handling
them", ooops :-((((

The thing I would consider most important nowadays is record keeping. A
log showing every bike that is looked at, what was done to it and by whom,
and a list of the things that are wrong but were not fixed. In two parts
of course, one for the kids to take home in the hope that their parents
might take some interest.

I don't think you could expect them to have their own tools, so the
initial stages at least will have to be done with yours. Leave your
Snap-On and Park at home because the tools will develop legs, but for
safety's sake they need to be of reasonable quality. As you are also
going to need a stock of common parts (chains?, brake blocks, cables?,
selection of small bolts & screws), perhaps a local cycle shop would
consider providing tools & parts as a sponsorship deal? They would
benefit in the long run by being the place to go to for major repairs &
replacement components.

Quoted message said:

I see this a/s club forming up around simple repairs and adjustments,
nothing too contentious but then these days...

At 11 I was stripping & rebuilding my own bike, so it's not beyond the
reach of the age range you are working with to do almost anything that
doesn't involve facing or reaming -- well, the mechanically inclined ones
anyway.

Quoted message said:

ps I have no cycle maintenance qualifications, but then who does.....
maybe I should get some?

Definitely. This looks as if it would suit:
http://www.act-bicycles.com/cgi-bin/ACT/ACTcgi.pl?pg=58&sId=12

Mike

Some snippage:

Quoted message said:

If I were to initiate an after school club for kids (11-16) to use the
spanners (probably their own, supplemented by a few of mine)on their own
bikes, will I end up penniless and/or in gaol as soon as one of the
attendees has an accident that "is your fault..." etc.?

Quoted message said:

I see this a/s club forming up around simple repairs and adjustments,
nothing too contentious but then these days... it could also (here's
hoping!) even lead to the PE department introducing cycling into the
curriculum. Better than boxing...

Quoted message said:

ps I have no cycle maintenance qualifications, but then who does.....
maybe I should get some?

If your knowledge is a little lacking then a qualification might be the
easiest way to improve it. On the other hand, if you don't need it spend
the money on something useful like BEER[1]

The soon-to-be-in-Manchester EBC has a record of doing 'stuff' for cycling
in the local area, so might be a good source of 'stuff' for the club.

Wot I'd suggest is test the waters with a few regular (or irregular)
workshops. Will take up just a fraction of your time compared to a weekly
club, and will do almost as much in terms of getting road-worthy bikes on
the road.

[1] As well as still not being able to cycle, I've discovered that alcohol
is aggravating the knee problem. You don't realise how much you like it
until you can't have it :-( I tried <shudders> Kaliber </> today. Even
coke tastes better.

In article said:

Tony B said:

I see this a/s club forming up around simple repairs and adjustments,
nothing too contentious but then these days...

At 11 I was stripping & rebuilding my own bike, so it's not beyond the
reach of the age range you are working with to do almost anything that
doesn't involve facing or reaming

Unless we cross over with the "welding cracked aluminium frames" thread...

Mark Thompson said:

[1] As well as still not being able to cycle, I've discovered that alcohol
is aggravating the knee problem. You don't realise how much you like it
until you can't have it :-( I tried <shudders> Kaliber </> today. Even
coke tastes better.

I have found that Becks alcohol free is not too bad. At least it tastes
a bit like beer without the vomit smell of Kaliber.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

"I suppose they are vicious rascals, but it scarcely matters
what they are. I'm after what they know." (Gibson-Sterling, The
Difference Engine)

Alan Braggins said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Mike Causer wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

At 11 I was stripping & rebuilding my own bike, so it's not beyond the
reach of the age range you are working with to do almost anything that
doesn't involve facing or reaming

Unless we cross over with the "welding cracked aluminium frames" thread...

At 19 I could weld or braze steel, but still can't do aluminium. However,
even an apparently uncracked aluminium frame is still something of which I
am deeply suspicious.

Mike

"Tony B" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

That's what I love about usenet, even after all these years it can still
throw me... here again is my posting:

This is my first time bringing up this idea with anyone, so it could well
be incredibly naive however here goes:

If I were to initiate an after school club for kids (11-16) to use the
spanners (probably their own, supplemented by a few of mine)on their own
bikes, will I end up penniless and/or in gaol as soon as one of the
attendees has an accident that "is your fault..." etc.?

Quoted message said:

I see this a/s club forming up around simple repairs and adjustments,
nothing too contentious but then these days... it could also (here's
hoping!) even lead to the PE department introducing cycling into the
curriculum. Better than boxing...

Comments are welcome from all.

Tony B

ps I have no cycle maintenance qualifications, but then who does.....
maybe I should get some?

Hi Tony,

I'm guessing that your change of career is forging ahead and that you will
be offering the course as an 'insider'.

There's several steps to consider/take before turning the idea into reality.

1. Locate a sutable room in the school.
2. See the head of technology to get permission.
3. Familiarise yourself with the risk assessment procedures of the school -
they vary from school to school.
4. Make yourself a self-checking tool board i.e. the ones with painted
outlines - a quick visual check at the end of the session will instantly
draw attention to absentees.
5. Get permission slips signed by parents.
6. Set the numbers that you want in a session. Draw up a rota if
over-subscribed.
7. Draw up a list of things that you want to cover and plan a sequence of
sessions.
7. Find out who the trials riders are in the school - they are likely to
have well maintained bikes and will be clued up - recruit them to do a
recruiting display and as helpers.

During your sessions:

1. Don't let anyone go early - they might have your tools in their pockets -
not necessarily stolen but sometimes deposited there by mischievious
classmates.
2. Try to focus on one task per session i.e. brake
stripping/cleaning/re-assembly/adjustment it's daunting to have to cope with
disparate demands with one's first extra-curricular activity.

The P.E. Department in my school used to cater for the trials riders in the
school. They had a mini trials park made from old pallets and on open
evenings the kids used to do an indoor trials session - it was awesome.

vernon wrote:

<snip loads of good copy>

Top advice Vern, you the man!!

cheers,

Tony B